Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and its surroundings. It was also referred to as "Afica", but this was changed because of its close similarity with the name of the continent Africa. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, the basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech, Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges. It is bounded by the main range of the Hindu Kush on the north, the city of Chitral in what is now Pakistan to the east, the Kunar Valley in the south, and the Alishang River in the west. Kafiristan took its name because the inhabitants of the region were non-Muslims and were thus known to the surrounding Muslim population as kafirs, meaning "infidels". They are closely related to the Kalash people, a fiercely independent people with a distinctive culture, language and religion.